Way back in 1904, the Gerhard Sisters captured a portrait of famed Apache warrior, Geronimo, during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. Over 100 years later, a conservator at the Library of Congress noticed a hidden detail in the portrait: the photographer sisters reflected in the warrior’s left eye.
Emme Gerhard (1872-1946) and Mayme Gerhard (1876-1955) were a pair of sisters who were among the first women to start a photography studio in St. Louis, Missouri. They formed their studio in 1903, a time when women were rarely hired as photographers and were still nearly two decades from being able to vote (more than 60 years from all women being able to vote in the U.S.).
“We know that being women we must expect to do our work as well and then a little better than men if we would be recognized and accepted and compete upon equal terms with men,” Emme Gerhard told a reporter in 1917.
The Gerhard Sisters, photographed sometime between 1904 and 1914, by Anne Johnson. | Public domain
The Gerhard sisters trained for a few years with successful St. Louis portrait photographer Fitz W. Guerin and branched out on their own at a particularly auspicious time. St. Louis was a city on the rise and hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair, in 1904. The event gave the Gerhards plenty of opportunities to capture portraits professionally, including one of Geronimo. The sisters were known for their natural, painter-inspired approach to portrait photography. They also resisted traditional retouching techniques prevalent at the time, preferring to capture more authentic images of people.
During the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the Gerhards, along with Charles Carpenter and fellow woman photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston, were tasked with taking portraits of the Native Americans and other ethnically diverse visitors to the fair for a collection at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.
Portrait of Geronimo | Gerhard Sisters, Library of Congress 
A black and white film copy of the Gerhard Sisters’ portrait of Geronimo captured at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904. | Gerhard Sisters, Library of Congress 
A close-up view of Geronimo’s left eye in the portrait captured by the Gerhard Sisters in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. | Gerhard Sisters, Library of Congress
The portrait of Geronimo, like so many the Gerhard Sisters captured during their illustrious careers, was acclaimed at the time of capture. However, it wasn’t until 104 years later that a conservator at the Library of Congress, which acquired an extensive collection of the sisters’ work in the 21st century, noticed that one of the sisters was reflected in Geronimo’s left eye, a happy accident that provides viewers today a small but significant glimpse at an exceptionally talented photographer.
Tragically, the Gerhard Sisters lost many of their best and most valuable photos in a February 1905 studio fire, including more than 300 glass plate negatives they shot at the World’s Fair the year prior. Mayme Gerhard estimated that she and her sister lost $10,000 worth of portraits, which is nearly $370,000 in today’s dollars.
While these photos have been lost for 120 years, many of the Gerhards’ photos have survived. Similarly, their legacy has endured, as the women were instrumental in paving the way for other women to become professional photographers.
Image credits: Portrait of Geronimo by the Gerhard Sisters in 1904. Library of Congress, public domain